The Road to Vein Therapy
Dr. Adelman completed his residency at the University of Tennessee after attending medical school at the University of South Florida in Tampa. As a board certified OB-GYN just out of residency, he moved to Panama City and began performing deliveries and other operative procedures in 1984. For nearly 10 years, Dr. Adelman continued down this track, often working under high stress conditions, but he was in love with his work.
In 1993, he decided to try his hand at law school and enrolled at Florida State University. After graduating and passing the bar exam, he continued practicing OB-GYN for a year and a half then decided to retire in beautiful Key West.

This time off made Dr. Adelman reflect on his life’s passion, and after some lifestyle changes, he finally decided to get back to business in 2003. He eased back into practicing medicine by working with a doctor in Jacksonville, Fla., who was an OB-GYN as well, but also did some vein work. Though that stint was short-lived, Dr. Adelman saw many vein therapy clinics in the area and decided to look into the field, an ultimately life-altering decision.
His first course in vein therapy was with Dr. Norman Cohen at the Vein and Aesthetic Center in Jacksonville. The three-day class affirmed Dr. Adelman’s nagging feeling that he and vein therapy were a perfect match. “I thought ‘Hey, I really like this. This is very objective; it’s something different, and it fits with what I enjoy doing,’” Adelman said.

He called Dr. Cohen a few weeks later to ask if he would allow him to observe at his office and instruct him further on vein therapy procedures. As Dr. Cohen happened to be an OB-GYN as well, he happily obliged. “During this time, I worked closely with the staff and learned how to do the EVLTs on the injections,” Dr. Adelman said. “I also got to do a lot of scans as an OB-GYN who had been doing ultrasounds, and though there were some new aspects to it, the techniques were pretty easy to learn because I was used to seeing images in that way.” Dr. Adelman completed his preceptorship under Dr. Cohen in November 2004 and began his own business, The Vein + Laser Clinic, and saw his first patient in Spring 2005.

Practicing on His Own
The shift from OB-GYN to vein therapy was an easy one for Dr. Adelman, and he said the stress factor has definitely decreased. “In using an ultrasound and looking at the patient, you can usually tell what needs to be done. There isn’t as much guess work as there is in delivering babies – like ‘Is this baby going to deliver safely or will I have to do a C-section in 10 minutes?’”

Dedicated to patient care, he always gives out his pager number after procedures, even when he was an OB-GYN. “I get maybe one call a year now,” he said, as compared to the drastic number of post-procedure calls he got as an OB-GYN.

Dr. Adelman said he also loves the feedback he receives from patients, as vein therapy procedures tend to produce fairly uniform results. “People are typically appreciative of good work,” he said, especially if he can alleviate the pain and make someone’s life just a bit easier.

One patient in particular that Dr. Adelman remembers came to him complaining about severe tenderness in her lower legs: so painful that she could hardly touch them and was unable to put socks on. He treated her for chronic venous insufficiency by using ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy techniques, which is the most common procedure he performs. In the end, the patient was extremely pleased with the results and no longer had to deal with the sweltering pain in her legs thanks to Dr. Adelman.

The ACP: A Journey Continued
Ever since he became enthralled by the world of vein therapy, Dr. Adelman has attended every American College of Phlebology (ACP) meeting and raves about them. “They are a great source of teaching and knowledge,” he said. “I always get the CDs and videos and check those out because you’re just bombarded with so much information there that you can’t possibly absorb it all.”

Dr. Adelman spends a good deal of time watching and re-watching ACP videos in order to better understand vein therapy procedures. “Things are constantly changing (in vein therapy), which gives it a very different feel than something that is nearly set in stone, like obstetrics/gynecology.”
With a career marked by educational pursuits, there is no doubt that Dr. Adelman will continue to absorb all the information he can about the newest vein procedures, having accessed the great educational benefits of the American College of Phlebology. VTN